Southern Secrets
by leahlilly215
Summary: Rose Hathaway is fresh out of college and is attending her friends wedding when she sees a face from the past. Enter Dimitri Belikov. He's a fitness trainer from Russia who can't seem to place where he knows Rose from. As they meet again will sparks fly? What happens when Rose's controlling boyfriend Adrian gets thrown into the mix? Only time will tell this is the South after all..
1. Chapter 1

**So this idea just kind of popped into my head the other day and I really wanted to see if anyone was interested in reading it before I decided to throw it away or not. I'm not new to writing fanfiction but this is my first VA story. I'm really into Romitri right now. I know this chapter is slow but I wanted to start it off slower, introducing a few basic things before diving straight into it. I hope you enjoy and if you do, please REVIEW!**

Dimitri stepped through the small gate that bared his entrance to the celebration. His eyes roamed the scene taking everything in. There were about fifteen rows of 10 pristine white chairs with cushioned seats in each row on either side of a white satin fabric strip that made the aisle. The satin led the way to a white fence archway that had ivy woven through its holes at the front of the chairs. Everything was beautifully simple. Everything screamed Tracy to him. Dimitri smiled to himself at the thought.

He scanned the few people occupying the chairs for a place to sit, there wasn't many people, and he was fairly early, until he found his friend waving at him to join him. He made his way over and gave his friend a hard hug, "Darren! It's so good to see you man." The man named Darren smiled and sat with Dimitri, putting his arm back around the woman he had left sitting next to him, "Dimitri! You look good bro. Man how long has it been? Four years? Five?" Dimitri chuckled, taking his seat next to his friend has he spoke, "Nearly five."

Darren smiled and nodded, thinking back. Dimitri took the time to study his old friend. He was taller, but only slightly, than the last time they spoke but still didn't come close to his own 6'7'' height. His hair was a chocolate brown color but his eyes were as blue as ever. His face was a little more lined than he remembered but so was his own.

Dimitri was distracted from his assessment when the woman next to Darren elbowed him in the ribs and his friend looked embarrassed, "Oh! Sorry, Dimitri this is Jenna, my girlfriend. Jen this is Dimitri, a buddy of mine from college." Dimitri smiled and took her hand, shaking it as he said, "It's nice to meet you." Jenna smiled, "It's nice to meet you too." She was pretty, not his type, but pretty nonetheless. She was blonde haired and blue eyed, long legged and could definitely be a model.

"So Dimitri," Darren said, "What've you been up to? It's been too long since we talked." Dimitri shrugged, tucking a stray hair that had fallen loose from his ponytail behind his ear, "I got a job as a personal trainer at The Julius Fitness Club in San Antonio after graduation and now I'm the Head Manager of Personal Fitness. Which is just their fancy way of saying I watch over all of the personal trainers on staff." Darren whistled, "I've heard of that place. Isn't the membership close to $200 a month for a basic package?" Dimitri gave a small smile and nodded. "Damn man. How much do you make a year?" Dimitri just winked at him in response.

They chatted for a while longer, people finally starting to come through the gate and filling the seats. And then, at 7 pm sharp, the groomsman were lined up in nice jeans and button up shirts with cowboy hats to match (not to mention boots), and the music started. A small boy whose clothes matched the groomsmen walked out first with a small red pillow, which Dimitri assumed held the rings. Next the three bridesmaids came out. Each wore a matching knee length, red lace dress, not to mention they all wore matching black cowboy boots, and all their hair was curled to Taylor Swift perfection. Just as the last bridesmaid took her place to the left of the arch, the wedding march started. A small girl wore a while frilly dress and threw red rose petals into the air and giggled as she watched them fall around her skipped down the aisle before she sat in the front row. Everyone stood to watch as Tracy started to make her way down the aisle. She wore a simple A-line lace dress that only trailed behind her for a couple feet. Her brown hair was half up with the rest down and pulled to the side and large curls. Dimitri had never seen Tracy look so beautiful. The ceremony was short but beautiful. He had watched as Luke and Tracy fell in love while they all went to school together.

As Dimitri let his eyes wander, he noticed a few familiar faces in the audience from his college years and he looked forward to catching up with his old friends. But as his eyes passed over the wedding party, he stopped and stared at one of the bridesmaids. She had dark brow almost black hair and, though the dress was free flowing, she was curvy enough that you could still see her curves. There was something so familiar about her but he just couldn't place her. He quietly pointed her out to Darren and he said her name was Rose and that she had been in Tracy's sorority. Dimitri remembered a scene from a party but the girl was blurry, probably from his alcohol consumption that night. He sighed telling himself to let it go.

* * *

Rose became antsy has wedding party pictures began to run long. All she wanted to do was go to the barn where the reception was being held so she could drink and dance until she couldn't drink or dance anymore. She huffed slightly as the photographer posed her with her boyfriend and assigned groomsman, Adrian. He dug his fingers into her waist painfully and said, "Stop being so rude, Rose. It's a very unattractive quality that you have." She flinched but plastered a fake apologetic smile onto her face, "I'm sorry. I'll be better." He smiled down at her and patted her waist where he had just had his claws, "Good girl." Rose looked back at the camera and did her best to smile.

After ten more minutes of pictures, the photographer let them go and she was relieved when the other bridesmaids practically dragged her into the barn just as a song started up and people began dancing. 30 people were one, two and three stepping, already beginning to twirl and flip, showing off to the rest of the barn. Rose groaned to herself, just itching to be out there herself, but one of her old sisters dragged her to the open bar to get started on what was sure to be a long night.

Just after she took her first shot of tequila, an old friend from college took her to the dance floor and she began lose herself in the music, letting John spin her around and around.

She had just got her feet back on the ground from flipping over his arm when she saw him. He was tall. Much taller than the men that were standing around him talking. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail on the nape of his neck and suggested that it was longer than she remembered it to be. She smiled at the thought and let John take her back into his arms and continue their dance.

As soon as the song was over, Rose kissed his cheek and turned her attention back to finding the man she had seen before. She spotted him by the nonalcoholic drink table and started to make her way to him when Adrian intercepted her, "Rose, little darling, there's someone I want you to meet." She only glanced at her boyfriend's face before turning her attention back to the man. Wiggling away from his arms, she mumbled to him that she'd be right back.

The man was facing the table, seemingly unaware of the fact that Rose had just walked up beside him. She pretended for a moment to look at the options in front of her before turning to face him. Leaning her hip against the table and crossing her arms she let a smirk play on her lips before speaking, "You."

**So what did you think? What do you think about this Adrian? You haven't seen nothing yet ;) I'm not an Adrian hater but for the purpose of this plot he needed to be the bad guy. Don't hate me! It's only 1,313 words but like I said I wanted to ease you into it. I always hate writing the beginnings because I'm just so excited to get to the good part! It will take a couple chapters though to get to the actual good part but please just bare with me. Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Get Me Some Of That

_**Get Me Some Of That by Thomas Rhett.**_

**Hello wonderful people! So I'm sure you noticed that this chapter has a title now and I've included who sings it in my author note. From now on I'm going to tack a song onto my chapters for you to listen to. It will always have something to do with a scene or the chapter as a whole to help you understand where my thought process came from. I usually get my inspiration from songs because music speaks to me in ways that even I don't understand. But anyway, that's what's going on with that. **

**You have no idea how happy you guys have made me with all your reviews and follows and faves. My email blew up all day from alerts from you guys and it made me want to jump up and down. I've never received so much support for one of my stories before. It makes me want to write more than ever before knowing that there are people who are excited to read my words. It made me so giddy. **

**Again thank you to everyone who showed their support and interest in me and this story who I couldn't get to. I'm going to try my hardest to make this story perfect for you guys. Anyways, I'm done blabbing. Let's get back to Rose and Dimitri.**

Dimitri had felt someone come to stand beside him at the refreshment table but chose to ignore them as he assessed his choices. He really wanted a beer but he had to drive himself the hour back to his house so he reluctantly opted for the nonalcoholic table. Just has his hand reached for a Dr. Pepper the person next to him spoke and it made him whip his head around to face the person responsible.

As his eyes landed on the bridesmaids face from earlier, he was suddenly 5 years younger.

**FLASHBACK**

"You."

Dimitri looked up from his assessment of the party around him and his eyes met a beautiful girls. She was younger than him. Probably by a good five years. She looked too innocent to be at Sigma Chis kegger that was getting more out of hand by the second. Her dark hair was long and wavy and her gorgeous brown eyes screamed deer in the headlights, though it was obvious she was trying to hide her discomfort. Her tank top hung off her frame in the perfect way to give a tease of her cleavage and her shorts had obviously once been jeans, judging from the uneven cuts at the ends. He wondered idly if she had dressed herself or if someone had done it for her.

"I have a name, Shortstop." He replied automatically. He didn't know what possessed him to call her that but it did fit her well. She was nearly a foot shorter than himself.

Shortstops leg twitched as her face scowled. He wondered if she had stopped from stomping her foot in protest and smirked at the thought. "I am _not_ short. You're just freakishly tall." She said indignantly. Dimitri just chuckled lightly in response. "Could you move your giraffe ass out of the way? You're blocking the food." She continued. He craned his neck dramatically to look behind him at the table he was standing in front of, "You mean this table, Shortstop?" This time she did stomp her foot, obviously not enjoying this conversation as much as he was, "_Stop_ calling me that! And yes. That table."

He pretended to think about moving before she got impatient and tried to elbow him out of the way unsuccessfully. He watched her in amusement as she tried for a full minute to get him to move before giving up and huffing. "You know if you asked nicely, maybe I could step aside." Dimitri said with a smile playing on his lips.

The girl eyed him for a couple seconds, obviously debating if it was worth her pride to give in to him. Finally she said in an obvious begrudging voice, "Could you..._ please_ step aside so I can get some food?" He chuckled at her attempt at being polite but moved to the left so that she could have access to the table. She stepped up and begin to pile snack food onto a plate as he stuck out his hand, "I'm Dimitri." Again she eyed him and his hand before finally taking it and giving it a small shake, "Rose."

"Rose..." He said assessing the way it rolled off his tongue. He smiled at her and received a small smile in return. As she continued to pile food onto her plate, he noticed her sneaking sideway glances at him. Once she was done, Rose turned and faced the man in front of her assessing him. "You're not from here." She stated. Dimitri shook his head in affirmation, "No, I'm not." He smirked at her frustration from his lack of forthcoming information.

Her mouth twisted in thoughtful contemplation as she tried to figure out his strong accent. He had only been in the states for four years, and though his English was perfect, his accent had only slightly lessoned. "Say something else." She demanded. "Something else," He chuckled. Rose huffed and turned to leave, obviously over trying to keep up with his teasing. He reached out and grabbed her arm, turning her back to face him gently, "Russia. I'm from Russia."

Rose grinned in triumph and Dimitri gaped at her, seeing now she had played him into telling her where he was from. He smiled then, "You're sneaky." She laughed and flipped her hair over her shoulder, giving him a slightly flirtatious look, "I'm a master at getting bo-… men to do what I want." He grinned wider, catching her stumble, "So you think I'm a man?"

Biting her lip, she gave him a slow once over, "Well, you're definitely not a boy." Dimitri nearly groaned but pulled himself together, wanting to keep the upper hand in their conversation. He took a small step forward and she nearly took one back at their closeness but stopped herself, raising her chin up in defiance at his attempt to fluster her. "You're not wrong," He said and nearly smiled at her suddenly breathless look.

Rose shook her head, obviously trying to clear it, and placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back. The brunette gave him a sarcastic look, "You think you're such hot shit, don't you?" Deciding to play coy he merely shrugged. "I bet you think you could get any girl at this party," She stated, rolling her eyes. Dimitri nearly laughed. He didn't think that at all, but for the purpose of annoying this girl he merely winked in affirmation. She huffed again and turned her eyes to the room and suddenly pointed, "Her. I bet you can't get her to go out on a date with you." He looked towards her gesture and saw a tall blonde with long legs and a short dress across the room. He never had a type but suddenly he knew she wasn't it as he turned his attention back to the beautiful brown haired girl in front of him.

He grinned down at her, "Well what will I get if I do?" She bit her lip then smiled back up at him, "I don't know about you, but when I when, you have to dance with me." Dimitri grimaced at the thought, he didn't dance. "Fine. But if I win, which I will, you have to kiss me." He smirked at her. He could see the wheels turning in her head as she debated it. "Okay," She finally said. He winked at her before walking over to the blonde.

Rose watched as Dimitri strutted over to the girl she picked out. They greeted each other and started talking. They talked for a couple minutes before he leaned over and whispered something in her ear that made her laugh and touch his arm. They talked for a couple more minutes before she handed over a small piece of paper and he made his way back over to Rose.

He grinned triumphantly and handed over the paper, "Boom. Getting her number was too easy." She took the paper and looked at both sides before laughing, "Too bad I win!" He frowned at her, "How do you win?!" Waving the paper in his face, she did a small mini dance, "You were supposed to get a date with her! Not get her number!" Dimitri scowled at her, "How am I supposed to go out with her if I don't get her number?!" Rose taped him on the nose, "You schedule a date with her and get her number, silly boy."

He shook his head, taking the number back from her, "No, no, no. I didn't strike out, so I win." She huffed and crossed her arms, "Fine. We both win." Then she grinned at him, "Now you have to dance with me!" It was his turn to grin at her, "Does that mean you have to kiss me?" She suddenly didn't seem so keen to get her way. "Scared?" He asked smirking. Rose lifted her chin in defiance, "No."

He raised an eyebrow at her skeptically. Taking a breath, she reached her hands up for his face but he dodged them, shaking his head. He backed her up until she hit the table and then lifted her up onto it gently, "If we're going to do this, we're going to do it right." She gasped as he lifted her and then bit her lip nervously. He slipped himself between her legs to get closer to her before she could stop him.

They stared at each other silently for a moment before he leaned down and captured her lips with his. He moved his lips against hers for only a couple seconds before pulling away slightly, leaving his eyes closed, trying to unravel what he had just felt. But he didn't have time to think because she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back to her, continuing the kiss where they had left off. Dimitri wrapped one arm around her back, bringing her ever closer, then wound his other hand in her hair, helping to push his lips harder against hers. Rose let a soft, high pitched grunt leave her as her partner brought their bodies tight together. She ran her fingers through his long, almost shoulder length, hair before tangling her fingers in it.

Dimitri had just slipped his tongue into Roses mouth when someone walked up to them and hissed, "Rose!" It was a woman by the sound of the voice. When Rose did nothing in response to the voice, he decided to ignore it too. The woman spoke again, "Rose! Rose!" He felt the woman pressed up against him wave the other woman away but the voice continued on, "Rose the campus police are on their way here! You can't get another ticket! You're already on probation!" Rose pulled away immediately, much to Dimitri's dismay. He took the time to look at the new person. She was taller than rose and platinum blonde. She was model thin and pretty but she had nothing on Rose. "Shit," Rose said, glancing from Dimitri to her friend. She sighed and pushed him away to jump down from the table. Her friend started to drag her away, already beginning to lecture her on personal safety and not putting herself into bad situations. He watched Rose roll her eyes and pull her arm away, coming back to Dimitri. She kissed him quickly and said, "You still owe me a dance." He chuckled and watched her be rushed away. He ran a hand through his now tangled hair and decided to leave as well before all hell broke loose.

**END FLASHBACK**

Dimitri grinned at the woman in front of him that he now immediately recognized. Her dark brown hair was longer but only slightly, which he was thankful for. He could, now, still remember the feel of her silky hair in his fingers. Her brown eyes were still bright and gorgeous. And her lips... oh god her lips, looked perfectly plump and kissable.

"Shortstop!" He said continuing to smile at Rose. The use of his old nickname made her roll her eyes but smile that he remembered who she was. "What are you doing here?" She asked almost timidly all of a sudden. Nodding his head towards the bride and groom he said, "Luke was a good friend of mine in college. He was one of the few people I kept in touch with."

Rose quirked her eyebrows up at him, "You didn't stay in touch with anyone after you graduated? That's not normal." Dimitri shrugged, a slight smile playing at his lips. "I didn't peg you for the quiet, reserved type," She teased sending him a wink, casually reminding him of the onetime their paths crossed. He chuckled, sending her a wink of his own back at her, "That was a less sober version of myself. Maybe sometime I can show you a completely sober side. He's even more fun."

She blushed before she smiled at him, "You do still owe me a dance, you know." He nearly grimaced but he let his eyes take in every part of her he could see and decided that having her pressed up against him would definitely not be the worst thing.

So Dimitri just gave her a grin and held his hand out to her. Roses face lit up as she placed her hand in his and let him lead her to the dance floor. A new song started to play just then and it had Dimitri worried. He hadn't country western swing danced since he was in college and this was a very fast paced song. He let out a breath and just decided not to think about it and let his feet tell him what to do.

He pulled her flush against him, taking her hand in his and letting his other hand fall to her back. She looked up at him, waiting for him to take the lead and tell her what to do. Meeting her gaze, Dimitri was suddenly not worried. He started off at a slower pace to start them off but gradually began to speed them up, twirling her a few times. He finally got them to a pace that he liked but it was a quick three step, matching the pace of the song.

They're eyes never left each other, not needing to watch their feet as they silently communicated about each step they were about to take. He spun and flipped her to his heart's content, her always knowing what he was about to do a split second before he did it.

Rose giggled as he started to spin her continuously while still keeping their fast pace. Dimitri grinned at her before bringing her back to him for a second and then throwing her into a candlestick just as the song ended.

Setting her feet back on the ground, they stared at each other for a long moment trying to catch their breaths. Dimitri searched her face for even a hint of the desire he felt for her reflected back at himself. Taking a hold of her hand, he pulled her gently closer to him, though she was only a foot away. Rose stumbled slightly, caught off guard by the sudden movement, but let him move her closer.

"I really want to kiss you." He whispered, staring into her chocolate brown eyes. She smiled and bit her lip, her eyes moving back and forth between his. She opened her mouth to speak.

Someone had walked up beside them and cleared their throat before Rose could make a sound. She jumped away from Dimitri at the sound, looking towards the obviously male timber that had spoken. Whoever it was made her go pale and timid. Dimitri followed her gaze and found a man a few inches shorter than him with dark brown, messy hair glaring at the two of them.

The man was handsome, Dimitri supposed, with his brown hair and green eyes, but there was something sinister about him that Dimitri couldn't pin point. It might have been the way he was looking at Rose like a possession but it was probably the way his hand griped her arm so hard she flinched.

"Little Darling, Tracy is looking for you. Let's not keep the bride waiting." The man said, his cruel eyes never wavering from Dimitri. "Bye, Dimitri." Rose said softly, not looking at him as she was pulled away.

As soon as the couple was out of ear shot, the man started to whisper menacingly in her ear. Dimitri clenched his jaw and took a step to go after them when someone suddenly hooked their arm through his and steered him away from the retreating couple.

"Let's not start a scene now, Hon." The woman said as she led him to a wall. Dimitri looked at her, still fuming, "Start a scene?! Did you see him?! He practically ripped her arm off pulling her away!"

The blonde woman just shook her head and leaned against the wall beside him, staring after Rose and the jerk that had taken her away, "I saw. Believe me, I don't like her with Adrian any more than you seem not to. More so probably."

Dimitri clenched his jaw and looked down at her trying to choose his words carefully so as not to offend someone who was obviously on his side. He recognized her before he could think of something to say, "You're her friend. You dragged her away from me at the Sigma party before the cops showed up."

Rose's friend nodded looking up at him, giving him a sad smile, "That was me. Trust me, I wish I had let her stay with you. She met Adrian for the first time that night after I dragged her away."

He must have made a face at the thought of her agreeing to go out with another guy after having such a connection with him because she went on hastily.

"She didn't agree to go out with him. At least not right away." She pushed her hair back from her face, her eyes scanning the barn, "She looked for you for a month before she gave up and agreed to a date with him. You really hooked her with that kiss."

Giving him a small smile and a sad sigh, she stuck out her hand, "I'm Lissa by the way."

Taking her small hand in his, Dimitri shook it gently as he sighed to himself. "Dimitri. Thanks for pulling me away before I made a scene."

Lissa nodded before placing a hand on his arm and looking him in the eyes, "Be careful with Adrian."

Waiting for his nod, she bid him goodbye before walking away.

The rest of the night Dimitri make himself a fixture on the wall, his eyes following Rose and Adrian the rest of the night. He caught up with friends and let himself relax slightly but he never let his eyes stray from her for more than 30 seconds.

When the night was winding down and the bride and groom had left, an argument between the couple broke out quietly in a far corner. As Adrian started to lead her by the arm out of the barn and to the general direction of where all the cars were parked, Dimitri followed them.

Just as he was walking out, he heard their voices raise higher and as he turned the corner to where they were he saw Adrian lift his arm and backhand Rose across the face so hard she fell to the ground. Adrian kept walking but Rose stayed on her hands and knees, obviously trying to gain back her bearings.

Dimitri ran over and gently touched her arm to help her up. She flipped her hair from her face to look at him and he saw the red mark across her cheek and the tears in her eyes.

"Don't do anything stupid, okay? I'm alright." She whispered, letting him guide her up.

"Don't do anything stupid?! He hit you! I should go over there and make sure he never walks again!" Dimitri raged, keeping a gentle grip on her arm as she shook her head vehemently.

"Lissa.." Rose pleaded to a figure behind him. He turned and indeed saw Lissa making her way to him.

Understanding what her best friend wanted, Lissa nodded and placed a hand on Dimitri's arm, "Let her go, Dimitri. She needs to go with him or everything will get worse. Go Rose, I'll take care it."

Rose looked up into his face and wanted to cry all over again. She whispered his name and squeezed his hand before turning and rushing to where Adrian was yelling at her to get to his car.

Lissa and Dimitri watched Adrians BMW pull away before they addressed each other.

"Give me your phone. I'm going to give you our house phone and her cell number." She narrated as she did so. "Call her tomorrow before 5. She'll still be at work and he won't be around. This is something you need to talk to her about."

Lissa gave him a sad smile before turning and walking to a man waiting just outside the barn for her.

Dimitri sighed and ran a hand over his head, not knowing what to think but especially knowing that he couldn't just let that beautiful girl go, abusive boyfriend be damned.


End file.
